A funny thing happened while shooting Alexander H. We were walking around Hope Artiste Village, a repurposed former mill in Pawtucket, when we came across a really great mural inside the Kent Stetson boutique there. I wanted to do a few shots using it as a backdrop, so we went inside to ask permission.

Immediately Kent said yes, so we did a few shots. Then as we were getting ready to leave, Kent returned. Presumably he knew what Elska was because he said he’d be willing to...